Eartags



Nov. 2, 1965 c. BRIERLEY 3,214,856

EARTAGS Original Filed Sept. 15, 1960 INVENTOR ATTORNEY United StatesPatent 3,214,856 EARTAGS Cuthhert Brierley, Park House, Henley-on-Thames, England Continuation of application Ser. No. 56,130, Sept. 15,1960. This application Mar. 19, 1965, Ser. No. 440,198 1 Claim. (Cl.40-301) The present invention is a continuation of my similarly entitledcopending application, Ser. No. 56,130, filed Sept. 15, 1960.

This invention relates to an animal identification tag for fittingthrough a hole in a part of the animal.

The term animal is to be taken to include not only livestock such ascattle, sheep and pigs but also birds and fish.

Where cattle, sheep and pigs are concerned a tag according to thepresent invention is intended for attachment to one of the anima-ls earflaps.

With a bird however, the tag may be attached to a membrane of the wing,and with a fish, to the base of the tail.

The main desiderata for an animal identification tag are that it shouldbe lasting and weatherproof, that only a small hole be required to fitit to the animal, that once fitted it shall be irrernovably attached tothe animal so as to be more or less tamperproof or incapable of beingpulled out, and that its character should be such that it does not applypressure to the animals flesh and such that it may not easily becomeentangled by the animal in natural or artificial hazards in such amanner to either to trap the animal or cause the animal to injure itselfin its struggles to get free. It is aiso a great advantage if it iscapable of being fitted in a single operation without first punching ahole in the part of the animal to which it is to be attached.

Further desirable features are that it shall be light in weight, so as,in the case of an ear tag, not to cause droop of the ear flap, and thatit shall be capable of manufacture in various colors which cannot fadeor wear off whereby not only may individual animals be identified, forexample by numbers and/or letters or some other code embossed, engravedor other wise marked or stamped on the tags, but also groups of animalsby at taching to each animal of the group a tag of the same color.

According to the present invention there is provided an animalidentification tag comprising a pair of tabs to lie fiat one on eachside of the part of the animal to which the tag is to be attached, oneof the tabs having an upstanding headed spike to pass through the partof the animal to which the tag is to be attached, and the other of thetabs having a hole to receive the spike with the head of the spikeentered through the hole and preventing the withdrawal of the spike fromthe hole, the spike on the one tab and the hole in the other tab beingoffset from the center of the tab towards one edge thereof to an extentsuch that the tabs swing round with the spike as an axis to disengageentanglements.

Preferably, the tabs are elongated, and the spike and the holerespectively are formed towards one end of the tabs.

An identification tag according to the invention may be constructed soas to meet most if not all of the above mentioned requirements foranimal identification tags as will hereinafter be made clear.

It is to be understood that in use, the tabs are joined only by thespike, which in the case of an ear tag, passes through the ear flap andthe hole in the other tab, the

3,214,855 Patented Nov. 2, 1965 spike being retained in the hole by thehead of the spike.

By having separate tabs joined only by the spike, each tab may liewholely within the periphery of the ear flap and there is then noprojecting part or loop to become entangled. Furthermore the tag may beattached to any position on the car without the risk of leavinginsufficient room for the ear to grow thereby causing the ear to curl.

Also, and what is most important, because the spike and the holerespectively are offset fnom the center of the tabs to an extent suchthat the tabs are able to swing round to disengage entanglements a tagaccording to the invention is far less likely to trap the animal orcause it to injure itself in its struggle to get free.

Furthermore, with the preferred construction in which the tabs areelongated with the hole and the spike towards one end, the tabs are moreeasily able to swing round or deflect to disengage any entanglementwhich finds its way beneath them.

To assist this disentanglernent the inner faces of the tabs may,according to a feature of the present invention, be chamfered, away fromthe spike on the one tab and the hole in the other tab respectively.

By making the distance between the two tabs in the assembled conditionsufiiciently large in relation to the thickness of the ear to which thetag is to be attached, it is possible to ensure that the flesh of theear is not subjected to pressure and that diseases due to pressure orlack of circulation of air are avoided. In the preferred form of theinvention this is done by making the tab with the hole a loose slidingfit on the shank of the spike and making the shank of suflicient length.

The tags according to the invention are preferably made of a syntheticplastic material having the characteristics hereinafter defined. By theuse of such material, the tags may be produced as relatively lightmoldings and so as to bear in intaglio or relief any desired number,symbol, or code. Furthermore the plastic material may include anyconvenient coloring agent which then imparts a color to the tags whichcannot fade or wear off.

Preferably also, the spike is sharp pointed so as to be able topenetrate more easily the part of the animal to which the tag is to beattached when forced in by suitably designed pliers.

In this connection also, the head of the spike on the one tab and thehole in the other tab are preferably so formed as to co-operate topunch, during attachment of the tag to the animal, a hole for the spikein the part of the animal to which the tag is attached.

By way of specific example only, an ear tag according to the presentinvention will now be described with reference to the drawingsaccompanying the provisional specification in which:

FIGURES 1 and 2 show the spike bearing tab in front and side elevationsrespectively;

FIGURE 3 is a cross section of the other tab, and

FIGURE 4 is a front elevation of the other ta'b.

Referring to the drawings, the tabs, indicated respectively by thereference numerals 11 and 12, are of generally elongated rectangularshape, molded from nylon. The tab 11 has an integrally molded upstandingspike 18 towards one end i.e. offset from the center of the tab, and theend of the tab adjacent the spike is rounded oif concentrically with thespike. The spike, as shown, includes a shank 13a and an enlarged head13b. The head or" the spike is sharp pointed having a conic portionsurrounding a cylindrical portion 13d as shown.

The cylindrical portion provides a shoulder 14 on the spike the purposeof which is hereinafter described, and a sharply defined edge 13e isprovided between the cylindrical portion and the conic portion thepurpose of which is also hereinafter described.

The tab 12 is of corresponding size and shape tothe tab 11 and has ahole in the same relative position as the spike 13 to receive the spikewith the head of the spike entered through the hole. The hole 15 isdimensioned so as to be a loose sliding fit on the shank of the spikewhich is cylindrical in shape and, in the present example, a little overone eighth of an inch in diameter, the hole 15 being sharp edged at 15aon the inner face 17 of the tab 12.

The inner faces 16, 17 of both tabs are chamfered away from the spikeand the hole respectively in all directions. Thus referring to FIGURES 1and 4, there is a chamfered surface 18 extending from the spike and thehole respectively in the directions towards the farther end (the lowerend in the drawing) of the tabs, and chamfered surfaces 19 extendingfrom the spike and the hole respectively in the directions towards theside edges of the tabs, the surfaces 19 being joined around the spikeand the hole respectively on the side adjacent the nearer end of thetabs by a frusto-conically charnfered surface 20.

The farther ends of the tabs have rounded corners and the edges of thetabs are rounded from front to back as shown.

A suitable pair of pliers of any convenient construction is used toattach the tag to an ear flap. The pliers grip the tabs and force themtowards one another, the tabs being so located by the pliers relativelyto one another that, after penetrating the ear, the head of the spike 13is forced through the hole 15. The shoulder 14 then prevents withdrawalof the spike from the hole.

As the spike is forced through the ear flap, which is backed by the tab12, the edge defined between the cylindrical and conic portions of thehead of the spike 13 and the facing edge 15a of the hole 15 cooperate topunch a hole in the ear flap. Thus by shearing action between the edgesreferred to, a disc of flesh is actually punched out of the ear flap anda clean hole is formed in the ear flap to receive the spike. In this waybleeding of the ear flap is reduced.

The tabs are assembled with the inner faces 16 and 17 of the tabs lyingflat one on each side of the ear.

The shank of the spike 13 is made long enough to ensure that the earflap is not held compressed between the tabs and, since the one tab is aloose fit on the spike, both tabs may more easily swing round with thespike as an axis to disengage entanglements finding their way betweenthe tabs and the ear flap, the one tab turning on the spike and thespike turning in the hole in the ear flap.

In the present example the shank of the spike is inch long but thislength may obviously be varied depending upon the application to whichthe tags are to be put.

Compression of the ear flap between the tabs is to be avoided as thiscan of itself or by exclusion of the free circulation of air causedisease of the ear flap.

It is preferable for the hole in the one tab to be a loose sliding fiton the shank -of the spike because this simple arrangement both ensuresthat the two tabs do not apply pressure to the flesh between them andthat each of the tabs can swing round independently of the other todisengage itself from entanglements. Other arrangements can be usedprovided that they prevent the tabs applying pressure to the fleshbetween them. However, arrangements in which the two tabs cannot swingindependently of each other are considered less effective fordisengaging from entanglements.

The nylon used to make the tag is of any desired color, and one or bothtabs 11 and 12 may bear on their outer face in intaglio or relief moldedletters or numbers.

The nylon used has the following characteristics and thesecharacteristics (hereinafter referred to as the characteristics hereindefined) are those which any other synthetic plastic material to be usedshould possess:

It is :sufii-ciently hard to give to the spike 13 the rigidity necessaryto force it through the ear flap and the hole in the other tab using asuitably designed pair of pliers and to prevent the withdrawal of thehead of the spike through the hole 15 in the tab 12 once enteredtherethrough. On the other hand, it is sufficiently flexible to permitthe head of the spike to be forced through the hole and sufiicientlyfree from brittleness to allow the tabs to bend, at least to asubstantial degree, without snapping. It is not essential to use thesame material for both tabs but if different ones are used, their mutualcharacteristics must be such as to satisfy the above requirements.

An ear tag as above described with reference to the drawingsaccompanying the present specification meets all of the requirementsdescribed in the fifth and sixth paragraphs of this specification.Furthermore, where used on sheep, since the tabs are able to swinground, the possibility of the tags being fouled by shearing cutters isreduced.

The device as described may be used as an identification tag not onlyfor cattle, sheep and pigs but also for fish and birds, in whichrequirements similar to those described for ear tags also apply.

Where fish are concerned the tag is attached at the base of the tail ofthe fish, and with birds the tag is attached to a wing membrane.

In the particular arrangement described with reference to theaccompanying drawings the spike 13 is at the end of tab 11 and hole 15of the tab 12 is correspondingly disposed. This is preferred but notessential and the spike 13 and hole 15 may be somewhat in from the endof their respective tabs provided that the spike and the hole are offsetfrom the center of the tab to such an extent as to ensure that the tabscan swing round to disengage entanglement as discussed above.

While tabs of rectangular shape are preferred they may be of othershapes. Thus, they may be oval with the spike and hole towards one endof the tabs or they may be circular discs with the spike and hole nearthe edge. It will be seen that in the circumstances also the spike andhole are offset from the center of the tab.

Although I have disclosed herein the best forms of the invention knownto me at this time, I reserve the right to all such modifications andchanges as may come within the scope of the following claim.

What is claimed is:

An animal identification tag comprising a relatively thin elongatedplanar base tab, a spike on said base ta-b comprising a shank extendedat substantially right angles from the fiat planar surface from saidbase tab, said shank having a cylindrical bearing surface at least atthe outer portion from said base tab, a head on the outer portion ofsaid shank offset outwardly from the cylindrical bearing surface, saidhead being of substantially greater diameter than the cylindricalportion of the shank and having a shoulder at the outer portion of thecylindrical bearing surface extended at substantially right angles tothe axis of the shank, a pointed impaling memher at the outer portion ofthe head for piercing the portion of the animal to be tagged, saidimpaling member having a pointed end and a conical body enlarging fromthe point to the shoulder, and an elongated relatively thin planar fronttab, said front tab having an opening therethrough proximate one endthereof, the diameter of the opening being less than the diameter ofsaid shoulder, the front tab at least about said opening being resilientto permit said wall to be forced over said impaling member and shoulderand to spring back behind the shoulder in interlocking engagement, saidopening in the unsprung condition being circular and of greater diameterthan the external diameter of said shank to permit relative sliding andswivel movement between said tabs, said shank being centrally offsetrelative to the center of said base tab proximately one end thereof, thelength of said shank from said base tab to said head being of a lengthto ensure that the part of the animal to which it is attached is notcompressed between the tabs, the edges of the 0pposed faces of said tabsbeing chamfered and said tabs being longer in length than in width sothat the front and base tabs will have free relative rotational movementabout the axis of said offset shank to free the tabs from entanglementwith fixed foreign matter or such obstruction as wire fences.

6 References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 915,355 3/09Jackson 40301 1,374,443 4/21 Giordano 4U301 2,940,199 6/60 Goldberg40301 FOREIGN PATENTS 15,055 9/ 92v Great Britain.

EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner. WENCELSO J. CONTRERAS, Examiner.

